North American horticulture cultivates an astonishing diversity of ornamental species, from nearly every floristic region, but its landscapes are dominated by temperate species drawn from eastern Asia. The East Asiatic floristic region is one of the most diverse in the world with a high level of endemism across taxonomic ranks and ancient relicts of a once widespread flora. From this, a large number of ornamental genera and species have been introduced, from either a long history of cultivation in Asia or directly from the wild, where they have since become fixtures in European and American gardens. The success of Asian germplasm in American horticulture is attributable, in part, to a shared evolutionary history, climate matching, and pre-adaptability. Continuing access to these genetic resources is now governed by national legislation and influenced by an evolving international regime of access and benefit-sharing influenced by the Convention on Biological Diversity. Furthermore, updated plant quarantine regulations have added additional requirements for the importation of foreign plant genetic resources. The newly created category within the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Q37 regulations known as “not authorized pending pest risk analysis” (NAPPRA) restricts the import of plants for planting that may harbor pests or become pests that are not already established within the United States. To this end, scientists involved in the collection or use of Asian plant genetic resources are affected by recent changes in international and national laws, regulations, and access and benefit-sharing regimes.
The history of the study of mycobiota in West Kazakhstan region
